


Lull Me to Sleep

by whatinthehelliot



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Squip, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-01 06:57:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12151146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatinthehelliot/pseuds/whatinthehelliot
Summary: Jeremy keeps having nightmares and it's taking a toll on his sleeping habits. Michael is concerned and tries to help.





	Lull Me to Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> I just got into BMC roughly two weeks ago and god help me I can't get out

“You look like ass.”

“Gee, thanks,” Jeremy rolls his eyes and sighs, following it with a defeated slump forward onto the cafeteria table. He rubs at his eyes subconsciously and blinks blearily at his best friend. 

“No, but seriously, what’s up?” Michael looks worried and places a gentle hand on his back. Jeremy grumbles and raises himself from the table to lay his head on Michael’s shoulder.

“Just tired,” he mumbles into the fabric of Michael’s hoodie.

“How many hours of sleep are you getting dude? You look like you’ve barely gotten 3 hours for the past week.”

“Well, you’re not wrong,” He immediately feels Michael pull back to look at him. The expression he wears is riddled with concern.

 _"Dude,"_ Michael frowns at him. “you gotta get more sleep than that. It’s not healthy,” Jeremy just shrugs in response. “Alright. What’s going on?”

“Wha-What are you talking about?”

“You’re obviously not just sleeping badly for no reason. Spit it out, dude,” Jeremy seems to consider it for a long moment and makes an unsure noise that’s a cross between a groan and a whine. Michael just stares him down, making it clear this wasn’t just going to slip by him.

“I…” Jeremy pauses for a moment and takes a deep breath. “I’m just having some, uh,” He gestures vaguely with his hands, “...bad dreams?” Michael’s concern melts into sympathy.

“Is it because of, the, y’know,” He taps his finger against his own temple. 

“Yeah.”

“Oh,” There’s a tense silence. “Have you tried listening to music? That usually helps me on bad nights.”

“I guess I could try that,” He gives him a weak smile. Michael claps him on the back.

“That’s what I like to hear, Jeremiah,” Jeremy rolls his eyes fondly at the silly nickname - though can the full version of his name really be classed as a nickname?

“Ugh, don’t call me that, you dork.”

* * *

Jeremy does in fact, try the music method that Michael suggested. It doesn’t work.

He tries drinking chamomile tea to help him sleep. That idea flops too.

Finally, he gives the idea of a hot shower before bed a go. It makes him feel nice and warm and although he finds it easier to slip into sleep, predictably he’s woken by another nightmare. The previously comforting heat now makes him feel like he has been smothered in flames and leaves him shaken.

* * *

Everything feels heavy when he slides in next to Michael at their usual bench. He sighs and rests his head on his folded arms. Michael rubs his back in a gentle circle and while it does help, he still feels miserable. Getting through school previously was hard enough, but combined with the nightmares it’s becoming, well, a nightmare.

“What can I do to help you, buddy?” He hears Michael ask softly from beside him. Jeremy gives a dejected shrug and sighs for the second time in the past five minutes. He knows Michael is trying his hardest to help and while he appreciates it, he knows it’s a wasted effort.

“I don’t think you can do anything this time, Player One,” he replies, turning to look up at him. Michael visibly deflates at that and it’s just like him to always try to fix everything, even things beyond his control.

“Okay,” Michael mumbles, “but if you get another nightmare, you can call me, y’know. I’ll answer any time. If you have to go through it, I don’t want you to go through it alone.”

“Okay,” he pauses, “yeah, okay, I’ll keep it in mind,” Michael gives him a wary look so he tacks on, “I promise.” That seems to placate him, because he just gives a short nod and smiles.

* * *

He gasps heavily, sitting up quickly. His body is covered in a cold sweat and he feels his heart pound against his chest. Dragging a hand down his tired face, he checks the time. 2:23am, great. That’s what, 2 hours? 

The conversation from earlier comes to mind and he wonders if Michael would be pissed if he called him at 2am. Then again, he _was_ the one who suggested it in the first place. Jeremy opens up the contact list on his phone and scrolls to Michael’s contact and mulls it over for a long moment before he decides ‘fuck it’ and presses ‘call.’

It rings out for a while and he’s just about to give up on the idea and hang up when he hears the ringing stop and a crackle come through the speakers. Moments later, Michael’s voice filters through.

“Jeremy?”

“Heere,” Michael is quiet for a second before he snorts.

“Hilarious, really. Such a comedian, wow, you should have done stand-up comedy. I think you missed your calling, man,” Jeremy smiles and rolls his eyes.

“Dork.”

“You know it, buddy. So what’s up? You okay?”

“I, uh… I don’t know,” He fiddles with a stray thread on his shirt. Michael just gives a sound of acknowledgement, opting to not push it as he launches into a story about how he managed to get purple goop stuck on the ceiling in chemistry class.

Jeremy finds himself chuckling along and the anxiety starts to seep out of his body. It’s nice, just listening to Michael talk. He never really noticed, but his voice is weirdly soothing. It’s deep, but not so deep that he sounds intimidating. The roughness of his voice contrasts with the smoother notes to balance nicely.

Michael’s just launching into another story about how he defeated the Elite Four with a party full of Magikarps when Jeremy feels himself drifting off.

He awakes to the sound of Michael humming ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ and birds chirping loudly outside. Groaning, he turns over to grab his phone - which has somehow ended up on the floor - and checks the time. He blinks at it confusedly before the time really sets in.

7:12am.

He’d slept for four hours, at least. That would mean he slept for… six hours. He hadn’t slept for that long for weeks now, this is a frickin’ _miracle._

“Michael?” The humming stops and he hears crackling as (he assumes) Michael picks up the phone.

“Jeremy! Hey, buddy,” He can hear the grin in his voice and feels the corners of his own mouth quirk up, “seems like someone slept soundly.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy replies; his voice tinged with disbelief. He actually slept through the night. He didn’t have to sit awake for hours waiting for his body to go back to its sleepy state and then have to get up just before he fell asleep because of school.

“What changed?”

“I, uh… well, it’s kinda weird to say but uhm…” he trails off.

“Spit it out, nerd.”

“Your voice is uhm… weirdly relaxing?” He reaches one hand up to scratch the back of his head, the other occupied with actually holding the phone.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, uhm, sorry if that’s weird.”

“Nah, buddy. We’ve been friends for 12 years now, we’ve gotten past the stage where things are weird. Literally nothing you say now could phase me.”

“Well then, Michael, I have something important to tell you,” Jeremy starts in a serious voice.

“What is it?” Michael replies, voice equally serious.

“My name… is not really Jeremiah Heere.”

“Oh, really now? What is it, then?”

“Jeremiah Near.”

“What?” Michael sounds confused.

 _“Far, wherever you are!”_ He breaks into song and Michael bursts into laughter.

“Oh my god, you doof.”

“I thought I was your favowite person?”

“Your words, not mine.”

“You wound me, Michael Mell,” Jeremy places a hand over his heart, despite the fact that Michael can’t see what he’s doing. A silence falls upon them for a moment before they both start laughing.

* * *

They keep up the same pattern since it seems to work, until it doesn’t. He’s laying in bed staring at the ceiling at 5am as Michael rambles on about how someone at play rehearsals knocked into another cast member and they were in a line-up so it was a domino effect and ended up looking like a weird, awkward dogpile. 

He’s been talking almost non-stop without input from Jeremy for an hour now - which usually helps - but for some reason tonight is worse than the rest.

“Jere, you still awake?” Michael prompts. Jeremy just responds with a hum and finds himself fixated on a patch of chipped-away paint on the ceiling. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, this usually helps,” For a long time, the room is filled with silence as they both try to figure out which cog is missing.

“What if I come over?”

“What? Michael, it’s… 5am?” He didn’t mean for it to come out as a question, but it did.

“And?”

“Aren’t your parents going to be pissed if you come over at 5am?”

“Not if they don’t know,” He can almost see that cheeky eyebrow wiggle Michael does when he’s being mischievous.

 _"Michaaael,"_ He draws out his name as if that would somehow stop him. Jeremy knows for a fact how stubborn Michael is. When he has an idea in his head, it’s there and there is no stopping it.

“See you in ten,” Michael says quickly before Jeremy hears the hang-up tone.

There’s a light tap at his window roughly ten minutes later and he looks out to see Michael perched on the roof like a crazy man. Jeremy squints at him, but opens the window regardless.

“Why are you like this?” 

“This is who I am, dad,” Michael says as he steps inside, impersonating an edgy teenager. He quickly takes off his shoes before he strips down to his boxers and three-quarter shirt he wears under the hoodie.

“Oooh, sexy,” Jeremy monotones. Michael waggles his eyebrows at him.

Michael waggles his eyebrows at him and says with a strong lisp, “Like what you see, big boy?” Jeremy tries to stifle his laughter, but a chuckle slips out. Michael beams at him.

“Let’s just go to bed, oh my god.”

“So forward, Mr. Heere. At least take me to dinner first.”

“Now I just feel like you’re talking to my dad, please stop,” Despite his plea, he can’t help but smile.

 _“Fiiine,”_ Michael just snickers as they get into bed and make themselves comfortable. “Do you want me to ramble again?”

“Sure, normally helps.”

“Cuddles, though?” Jeremy just shoots him a look of ‘are you really asking me this?’ Michael just shrugs in response and brings him into a one-armed hug. After launching into another story - honestly, Michael has a much more interesting life than Jeremy gives him credit for - Jeremy finds himself nodding off and allows himself to be lulled to sleep by the warm hand on his back and the soft, sleepy tones of Michael’s voice.

* * *

When he wakes, the warmth that he was wrapped in has disappeared and it feels like he’s been thrown into an icy tundra.

He sits up in a panic and looks around for Michael. His brain gets all muddled as he tries to think of where he could have gone.

_< Optic Nerve Blocking: On  >_

He feels himself start to shake. What if the Squip had somehow gotten control of him again? What if he couldn’t see him and he was right next to him? What if Michael was being ignored again like he had been before? What if he--

“Hey,” a voice cut through his thoughts and his head snaps up to its source. Michael. “Dude, are you okay? I just had to go pee and I thought you’d still be asleep when I got back, my bad,” Jeremy stares at him for a long time before he chokes back a sob and wraps his arms around Michael. “Whoa, dude. You good?”

“I-I-I… I thought you were… that he…” He swallows the lump in his throat.

“It’s okay, Jere. I’m right here. I’m right here. Shh, hey, it’s okay,” He hugs him back gently as if trying not to break him, rubbing comforting circles on his back.

“I just… I-I don’t… I don’t want you to go through that again. It was horrible and it was awful and I hurt you and it’s all my fault and I-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down there, buddy. It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault. It was the Squip.”

“But I-I… At the party, I just ignored you and I…”

“That’s something different, man. I’ll tell you as many times as you gotta hear it, it’s okay. I forgive you. We’re okay. I’m still here,” Jeremy nods and sniffles, burying his head in Michael’s shoulder. After a long moment, Michael pulls back and looks at him. “You good?”

“Mhm.”

“Glad to hear it. Let’s go back to bed, ‘kay?” Jeremy just nods and they get back into bed, settling into a comfortable position. Jeremy inhales, then exhales, trying to breathe slowly. He knew the Squip would always come back to haunt him, but at least he had this. At least he had Michael, his best friend, his Player One. That made it all a little easier.

**Author's Note:**

> Cuddles are the remedy to everything, honestly.
> 
> Also, fun fact, I'm actually working on another fic as you read this! Hopefully I'll have it finished by the end of the month, but we'll see. It's way more shippy than this, though. I love boyf riends too much to not write shippy fics.
> 
> (If you wanna hang out with me on Discord: https://discord.gg/QNtA5Ju)


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